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Appearance and Character

Being half-Targaryen, Aegor had purple eyes, but black hair. As an adult, he had a close-cropped beard. He looked like a warrior, being lean, light, and tall.[3] Aegor's armor was well-made, though plain-looking, being grey-steel and black rings. On his helm was a horsehead with a horse's made flowing behind. His shield displayed his personal sigil: a stallion with black dragon wings, on a golden field, snorting fire.[3]

The angry Aegor reserved particular loathing for his half-brother Brynden Rivers, whose mother, Melissa Blackwood, had replaced his own as their father's favorite mistress. Aegor loathed Brynden, who was known as Bloodraven, even further when Shiera Seastar, their beautiful half-sister and a fellow Great Bastard, chose Brynden over him. Their other half-brother, Daemon Blackfyre, agreed to wed his daughter Calla to Aegor. Aegor often urged Daemon to press his own claim to the Iron Throne.[5]

First Blackfyre Rebellion

To prevent a rout upon Daemon's death during the battle, Aegor rallied his troops and charged into the Raven's Teeth, the archers of Brynden Rivers. Although Aegor took out Bloodraven's eye during their duel, he ultimately fled the battlefield.[5] Carrying the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, Aegor fled Westeros with Daemon's widow, Rohanne of Tyrosh, and her surviving children, eventually settling in the Free City of Tyrosh.[7]

The Golden Company

Aegor served a year with the Second Sons before leaving to create the Golden Company, a famous mercenary organization, to stop the loss of support for the Blackfyres as other exile lords began to join other mercenary companies. While sellswords are notoriously unreliable, the Golden Company has a respectable reputation. They are said to have never broken a contract. The words of the Golden Company are "Beneath the gold, the bitter steel"[8], and refer to Aegor's nickname, Bittersteel. Shortly after its creation, the Golden Company became one of the most famous and disciplined sellsword companies known in the Free Cities. They quickly established their reputation by sacking Qohor when the city refused to honor its contract.[9]

In 236 AC, Aegor landed on Massey's Hook at the head of the Golden Company with Daemon III, starting the Fourth Blackfyre Rebellion. The rebellion was crushed in the Battle of Wendwater Bridge, though Aegor managed to escape.[11][12] A few years after the Wendwater Bridge, Aegor reappeared in the Disputed Lands, where he fell during a skirmish between Tyrosh and Myr.[11] On his deathbed, he commanded the men of the Golden Company to boil the flesh from his skull, dip it in gold, and carry it before them when they cross the narrow sea to retake Westeros. The captains-general who have since led the Golden Company have followed Aegor's example.[13]